The L.A. Times music blog

One billion online searches were ranked to determine biggest comebacks in U.K. and U.S. music since 2004 and Jennifer Lopez led the pack. It’s scientifically proven, so you know it’s true.

Jennifer Lopez has been virtually inescapable this year -- whether judging “American Idol” or shilling Fiats -- and now there's this: On Thursday, the pop diva was named the “world’s greatest musical comeback act.”

The ranking came from Accuracast, a digital search agency that analyzed 1 billion online Google searches from 2004 to present.

Lopez beat out Mariah Carey and Ricky Martin for the top spot. New Kids on the Block and Brian Wilson rounded out the U.S. acts.

From the second the ink dried on the 42-year-old’s contract with “American Idol,” 2011 became the year of J.Lo. It's a stark contrast to the rocky couple of years that saw her (literally) stumble at the 2009 AMAs while performing with her bombed single "Louboutins," getting dropped from longtime label Sony and her film "The Back-Up Plan" performing poorly.

But Lopez smartly timed her comeback effort, "Love?," with her stint on "Idol." The album's lead single, "On the Floor," entered the charts at No. 9, her highest debut ever, and the album bowed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 charts. She's also amassed hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and Vevo, and her video--featuring Pitbull -- is now the third-most-watched music video of all time.

Aside from shamelessly pimping Gucci Fiats through commercials, music videos and onstage, Jenny from the Block has also scored TV spots for Venus razors, L'OréalEverSleek, Harman Kardon's home theater systems and her own Kohl's clothing line.

While another star would have taken a sabbatical when her marriage crumbled, J.Lo grew even more visible and mocked her sordid luck at love in her live shows. She’s since cozied up with a backup dancer, and she is still pressing forward with "Q'Viva!," a Latin music talent search starring herself and estranged hubby Marc Anthony (it's set to air on Univision and other networks next year.)

Accuracast also ranked U.K. acts, with Take That taking the crown. Still, deceased singers remain the biggest driver of online music searches. Searches for Amy Winehouse after her death equaled those for Lopez’s comeback, and searches for Michael Jackson almost quadrupled those for Lopez.